In a corner of the bustling Middle Level of the White God Festival, a lone woman stood amidst beautiful flowerbeds arranged with blossoms from the God Realm.
Her long, bright golden hair fell in loose, elegant curls, framing eyes that were a beautiful but piercing shade of red. Adorned with a red rose hair ornament and clad in a crimson dress that looked fit for a grand ballroom, she stood with her arms crossed over her ample chest. Her expression was so harsh it seemed as though she were glaring at everyone and everything around her.
She was undeniably beautiful, yet her razor-sharp aura made her seem utterly unapproachable.
"Wait, is that...?"
"She looks like she's in a foul mood. We'd better stay away..."
The other festival-goers hurried past, seemingly suppressed by the woman's sheer intimidation. As she continued to stare out with that same fierce expression, a single figure approached her.
"...I’m back. Are you alright, Elly?"
"..."
The woman who spoke was plain-looking—the polar opposite of the flashy woman before her. She was the kind of person who would vanish into a crowd the moment she stepped into it. This was the Floral Princess, Camellia. She voiced a quiet apology as she addressed her golden-haired companion.
The woman called Elly—Rose Princess Rosmiel, one of the Seven Princesses of the World King's Subordinate Executives—turned a sharp, piercing glare toward Camellia before seizing her by the shoulder.
Leaning in close to Camellia’s ear, she whispered in a tiny, trembling voice.
"Y-You were too slow, Lia... I-I thought I was going to faint."
"...I only stepped away for a few minutes to buy some flowers. Is it really that hard just to stand here?"
Camellia offered a wry smile as she replied to Rosmiel, who spoke in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz—a stark contrast to her flamboyant appearance.
Without changing her expression, Rosmiel shook her head slightly from side to side.
"...Impossible. It's impossible, impossible, impossible... T-T-There are so many strangers... I think I'm going to be sick."
"As usual, your face and your voice really are at odds."
"I-I-In the first place, coming to a h-h-hellish place like this was just a m-m-mistake!"
"...Wait, didn't you ask me to come along because you wanted to go, Elly?"
Camellia looked at her with a complicated expression. Despite her fierce face, Elly sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
In truth, the only reason Camellia was attending the White God Festival at all was because Rosmiel had invited her. Otherwise, she hadn't planned on coming.
"I wanted to see the God Realm flowers, but I-I didn't think there would be this many people..."
"...And here I was planning to do a deep clean of the house today."
"If you hadn't come, Lia, t-there’s no way I could have come to a place like this alone. I’ll help you clean next time, I promise."
Despite their vastly different appearances—one flashy and the other plain—Rosmiel and Camellia had always gotten along. Among the Seven Princesses, they were best friends and likely the closest pair of all.
Contrary to her dramatic exterior, Rosmiel was actually incredibly timid and socially anxious. Her constant, stern expression was merely her face freezing up from extreme nervous tension.
A passionate flower lover even among spirits, she had braved the festival solely to see blossoms that only existed in the God Realm—flowers she rarely had the chance to visit.
However, because she couldn't even manage a conversation with someone she was meeting for the first time, she had begged her best friend to accompany her.
"The flowers here are wonderful, but the ones you really want to see aren't here, right?"
"Y-Yeah... They said the flowers that normally only bloom in the Sanctuary are being p-p-put on special display..."
"Sanctuary flowers would likely be more strictly guarded. In that case, they might be near the Area for the Wealthy."
"I-I see. Then let's go there next... Lia, please, walk in front of me... I'm scared."
"I just hope we don't need a prior permit to enter," Camellia muttered with an exasperated look as she consulted her guidebook.
Rosmiel followed behind with her sharp, glaring expression, though internally she was bordering on panic from the density of the crowd.
"Still, I'm quite interested in the Sanctuary flowers myself," Camellia added. "During the previous war, there were no flowers to be seen—likely to protect them from the devastation."
"Y-Yeah... Rumor has it there are many varieties that don't exist in the Human or Demon Realms. I don't know how many they’ve brought out, but I'm excited... I-I'd love to see a Sanctuary flower garden, just once."
"That might be difficult. Even Lilliwood-sama said that while she's heard about them from the Supreme Gods, she's never actually seen them in person."
"T-That’s a shame... B-But I'm still really looking forward to the ones we're about to see."
"Hehe, quite right. I hope they're as beautiful as you imagine."
Her expression remained as stern as ever, but there was a perceptible lilt in Rosmiel's voice. Camellia smiled as they moved forward together.
Rose Princess Rosmiel
With bright golden hair in vertical ringlets, sharp eyes, and a flashy dress, she has the appearance of a villainous noblewoman. In reality, she is pathologically shy and suffers from severe social anxiety. She struggles to hold a conversation with anyone she isn't close with; when meeting someone for the first time, it takes a staggering amount of time for her to manage even a single word. She has been close with Camellia for years and relies on her whenever she goes out. Among spirits, she is a devoted flower lover who enjoys discovering and cultivating rare varieties.